The meats of many species of Decapoda are highly valued seafood products, have been sustainable food sources for thousands of years, and comprise a multi-billion dollar segment of the overall global seafood industry. Within the infraorders Anomura and Brachyura are included the many commercial species of crab. Anomura includes the species commonly referred to as King Crab or Stone Crab. Brachyura includes all commercial species of crabs known as “Swimming Crabs” (e.g., C. Sapidus Blue Crab, Portunus pelagicus Blue Swimming Crab, Scylla serrata Mud Crab, Portunus trituberculatus ‘Gazami’).
Commercial species of Swimming Crabs are similar such that meat from one type of Swimming Crab may be considered to be directly interchangeable for the meat of another type of Swimming Crab both from a culinary standpoint, and in terms of market classification. Also, the standard commercial methods used for processing the meats of these species may be substantially the same, as the skeletal and muscular systems for each of the species are similar to each other.
Crabs are considered to be a delicacy, but may not be popular with some consumers due to the difficulty of extracting the meat from the shell. For example, although the meat in the claws is considered by many to be some of the highest quality meat in a crab, it can be quite difficult to get to the meat due to the thickness of the shell. Also, commercial processing of hard shelled crabs is complicated by the need to separate the meat from the shell. For example, when crabs are harvested they may be graded by size. The large crabs may be sold whole to restaurants and steam bars where they are generally cooked and eaten as whole crabs. Smaller crabs, however, may be sent to a picking house. Once in the picking house, the crabs may be steamed, and then the crabs are manually cracked and the meat is picked from the shell. This meat may be packaged and sold as pre-cooked crab meat.
Thus, uncooked crab meat is not generally used as a food source. It has not been considered feasible to extract raw crab meat in order to pre-cook and package the meat. Nor has it been considered commercially feasible to extract and sell crab meat as a raw product as is commonly done with virtually all other meats, whether from land or marine creatures. The unavailability of extracted uncooked crab meat is a global condition, and is the result of the nature of the crab's exoskeletal structure, combined with the fluid consistency of the crab meat, which makes the meat seemingly uneconomical to produce and use. Cooking the crab, e.g., by steaming/boiling while the crab is still alive, or soaking the crab in acid, can be used to cause the crab meat protein to denature and aggregate, thereby making extraction of the meat manageable. Thus, cooking the crab (or treatment with acid) causes proteins to denature producing a ‘chunky’ meat that can be extracted (picked) from the shell and eaten. Cooked crabs can also be served whole, in which case the person eating the crab is required to remove the meat from the shell. This is a significant distinction from other seafood and meat products which are commonly processed and sold in their raw state.
Thus, there is a need to be able to utilize uncooked meat harvested from crabs. Also, based on the popularity of fish products, such as sushi, fish rolls, and the like, there is a need to provide uncooked crab meat that can be presented in a variety of forms such as nuggets, fillets, medallions or slices that may be made into various forms.